


Teddy the Overreacter

by Buckybeardreams



Series: The Classifieds [25]
Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Classifications, Dom!Teddy, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Little!Billy, Little!Tommy, Littles Are Known, M/M, Mild Blood, Mommy!Wanda, Mostly Fluff, alternate universe - classifications
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckybeardreams/pseuds/Buckybeardreams
Summary: 4 times Teddy overreacts and 1 time he doesn't.Or the one where Billy gets hurt/cries and Teddy panics.
Relationships: Billy Kaplan & Tommy Shepherd, Billy Kaplan & Wanda Maximoff, Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan
Series: The Classifieds [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898527
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Teddy the Overreacter

Billy and Tommy were playing with barbie dolls, when Teddy showed up at the tower. He didn't get stopped by the guards, since Tony had added him to the list of people allowed on the residential floors. Teddy had an ID now, since Happy was pretty obsessed with ID's. Pepper thought it was a nuisance, but it didn't effect Tony personally, so he didn't really care.

"Teddy! Come play with us!"

Teddy dropped his bag on the couch and sat down on the floor next to the Littles. Billy snatched the barbie out of his brother's hands and passed it to Teddy.

"Hey! I was using that!" Tommy objected.

Billy just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Billy, you can't take toys from people." Teddy scolded, handing the barbie back to Tommy.

"Yeah, Billy." Tommy added, smugly.

Billy rolled his eyes and pouted. He tossed aside his barbie, in favor of climbing into Teddy's lap, and clinging to him like a koala bear. Teddy sighed and rubbed his back.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're not in trouble. You just need to share."

Billy huffed, and buried his face in Teddy's neck. Tommy stood up and patted his head.

"It's okay, Billy. I forgive you. Let's play a game!"

Billy peeked up at his brother.

"Like what?"

"Like superheroes."

"Okay!"

Billy jumped up and ran to their nursery. He came out with a crown on his head and wearing a red cape. Tommy hummed his approval and dashed off, returning with a pair of sunglasses on. Teddy stifled his laughter behind his hand as the two boys started discussing their names.

"You could be Wanda Jr."

"No, that's boring. If I have to be Wanda Jr, then you have to be Paul Jr."

Tommy scrunched up his face in distaste. They quickly scrapped the idea.

"I could be Magic Lad. With super awesome magical powers." Billy said, waving his arms around.

Tommy laughed.

"I could be the Vision. Maybe I could see through things like have x-ray vision or something."

Eventually they ditched those ideas as well. Billy kept his magical powers though.

"I know, I know! I'll be Wiccan. 'Cause imma witch. That's why I can do magic."

Tommy nodded his approval. He flopped back on the couch. 

"Who am I gonna be then?"

"You don't wanna be the Vision, no more?"

"Nah, not really."

Billy hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, your super fast, Tommy. You could be Speed." Billy suggested.

Tommy's eyes lit up.

When Wanda exited the kitchen the boys were throwing pillows at their "enemies", which were invisible. Billy had used his magic on them, so they could both see them though.

She chuckled.

Teddy glanced up at her, clearly amused. He was sitting off to the side, to avoid the onslaught of pillows. The boys jumped up on the couch. Teddy pursed his lips, but didn't correct them. If Wanda was upset about, she'd say something. Since she didn't, he let it slide.

"Are you boys hungry? I made chicken nuggets and french fries."

They cheered and ran off to the table. Teddy was amused when he sat down and Billy left got up and climbed into his lap. Wanda chuckled at them, and Tommy rolled his eyes.

"What were you two playing?" Wanda asked.

"Superheroes." The boys said at the same time.

They had the tendency to do that. At first, it sorta freaked Teddy out. Especially when they'd say full sentences, like they could read the others mind, or something. Now, he just thought it was cute.

"Oh, really? That's cool."

"Yeah, the coolest." Tommy agreed.

Billy nodded, shoving a nugget in his mouth.

"I'm Wiccan, Mommy." He said, his mouthful.

Wanda smiled at that.

"Chew first." Teddy reminded him.

The boy glanced back at him, but otherwise ignored him. He did swallow before talking though. So, Teddy wasn't complaining.

"I'm the Prince Consort and Court Wizard to the Alliance. I do magic." He told his mom.

Teddy and Wanda shared an amused look at the title.

"Teddy's my King." He added.

That was a new development. Teddy choked on his food at that. He had to take a drink of water to wash it down. Billy blinked at him, his brows furrowing in concern.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just caught off guard, that's all."

"Actually Billy, the Kree and Skrulls don't have kings. Teddy can be the emperor."

Billy tilted his head, but nodded.

"Oh, so are you guys Kree or Skrulls?" Wanda asked.

The boys looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm Asgardian." Billy said, like it was obvious.

"I'm a mutant." Tommy said, with just as much of a duh tone.

"Oh, of course. Silly me." Wanda said, smiling in amusement.

"Teddy's Kree though." Billy said.

Tommy scowled at his brother.

"Nuh-uh. He's a Skrull."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"I could be both." Teddy cut in. "Like a half-breed."

"No, definitely not." Both boys immediately disagreed, shaking their heads.

Well, at least they were agreeing on something.

They had just got up from the table, Teddy was helping Wanda clear the plates, when he froze. He dropped the plate in his hand, thank god it was plastic, and ran back into the dining room. Billy was crying and Tommy looked panicked. Teddy's panic set in and he started roaming his hands all over the boy, looking for any sings of an injury.

"What? What happened?" Teddy demanded, as he frantically looked over Billy.

"His toe!" Tommy cried, pointing to his brothers left foot.

"Ouchy!" Billy whined.

He sobbed, and latched on to Teddy. The older boy scooped him up and carried him over to the couch. Tommy followed, looking seriously concerned.

"What's wrong, Billy?" Wanda asked, stepping out of the kitchen.

"I don't know, I don't know! There's something wrong with his foot." Teddy rushed out.

Wanda raised a brow. She wants overly concerned. She knew her boys well. Billy cried over the smallest of things and Tommy added fuel to the fire, by freaking out over it. She had also seen the scrape on Billy's knee, that Teddy had clearly overreacted to, the other week.

She crouched down and had Teddy turn Billy so he was facing her. She wiped at the tears on his cheeks and kissed his nose. His sobs turned to sniffles. Wanda pulled off his sock and examined his toe. Tommy and Teddy both peered anxiously at it.

"I think it's just a stubbed toe." Wanda concluded.

"It hurt, Mommy." Billy said, sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby."

"Will you kiss it better?"

Tommy nodded. Mommy's kisses always healed Billy. Wanda pursed her lips.

"Not this time, Billy."

The boys lip quivered. Tommy looked outraged, and Teddy looked shocked. Wanda just chuckled and stood up. Billy was fine. He didn't need her to kiss his toe, and she didn't really want to put her mouth on his foot. Billy turned to Teddy.

"Teddy!" He whined.

The older boy was quick to set him on the couch, and crouched down and kissed his toe. He looked relieved when Billy beamed at him.

"Is that better?" Teddy asked, uncertainly.

"Yeah, are you okay now, Billy? Does Teddy's kiss make it better just like Mommy and Daddy's?"

Billy nodded and Tommy looked equally as relieved.

* * *

Billy was sitting and watching Teddy and Tommy skateboard. He wasn't that interested in it skateboarding, but he admired the way they had such control over their boards.. He also couldn't deny that his mouth was watering as he watched Teddy. Billy didn't know much about the sport, even though Tommy did it often. He usually opted out of joining, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch Teddy glistening with sweat. He did some sort of move where his board flipped and Billy all but swooned. Teddy was so cool.

They were at an indoor skate park, since it was January, and the weather was still pretty yucky. Billy munched on a bag of potato chips as he enjoyed the view. He blushed when Teddy stopped. He popped his board up and grabbed it, before heading over to where Billy sat. The dark haired boy fidgeted with the bag of chips in his hand. Teddy plopped down next to him, his board at his side. 

Billy sucked in a breath when Teddy reached over him to snag up the stainless steel water bottle. Oh god, he was so close, and his muscles rippled. Billy felt all flustered and hot. His face was bright red. Teddy chugged some water, eyeing the younger boy. He frowned, setting aside the water bottle.

"Are you okay, Billy? We can go if your bored." He offered.

"I'm okay." Billy squeaked.

Teddy's frowned deepened. His eyes scanned the flustered boy. He was trying to decide if he'd dropped or not. He didn't want to leave him alone over here, if he had. There was a lot of danger he could get into, if he wandered off while Teddy wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, look at me."

Billy's heart was racing in his chest. He thought it might break his rib cage, if it didn't slow down. He peered up at Teddy through his eyelashes. Teddy searched the boy, but wasn't sure if he was Big or not.

"You wanna join me?"

Billy's eyes got wide.

"I'm not good at skating." He admitted.

He was looking down again, and squirming. Teddy's eyes narrowed. Maybe he needed to go to the bathroom. Tommy sent them an inquiring look, having paused. He had one foot on his board, and was watching Teddy and Billy. Teddy caught his eye and nodded his head towards Billy. He was glad that Tommy caught on and came over.

"Hey, what's up? Are you guys ready to go?"

Tommy's eyes were searching Billy now, assessing. He plopped and slung an arm around his twins shoulder. Billy leaned into him, shaking his head.

"No? You want me to teach you to skate?" Tommy asked, his tone light and teasing.

Billy rolled his eyes. His head fell to Tommy's shoulder.

"No." He mumbled.

Tommy hummed and glanced over at Teddy. He raised his brow at the younger boy. Tommy knew what he wanted to know, and just shrugged. He wasn't sure if Billy was dropped or not. He didn't think he was fully dropped, but he could easily be in between headspaces. It was hard to tell with Billy. Even Big, he could be awfully shy and fidgety. It definitely happened more when Teddy was around. So, Tommy thought he was probably just being shy.

Tommy pressed a kiss to his temple and squeezed his shoulder affectionately. Then, he got up and sent a wink at Teddy. Teddy rolled his eyes, but stood up to follow him. He looked down at Billy. The boy was squirming and if Teddy was sure he was Little, he would ask if he needed to go potty. He wasn't sure though. He considered just leaving it. He didn't want to embarrass him. Billy would definitely be even more embarrassed if he went himself though. He was usually pretty good about going to the bathroom on his own. Maybe he was scared, because they were out in public though.

Teddy crouched down in front of the boy. Billy blinked at him, and looked away. He definitely looked embarrassed.

"How are you doing, Billy?"

Billy shrugged.

"Are you feeling Big?"

Billy frowned at that. He wasn't just some Little that needed to be looked after all the time. Well, to be fair, he was Littlexa lot of the time. He wished he wasn't now though. He didn't want Teddy to think he had to worry about him dropping all the time.

"I'm fine, Teddy. Really. Go skate."

Teddy still looked trepidacious.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Teddy didn't look convinced. Billy sighed.

"Would you be happier, if I just came with you?"

"Much. Um, do you need to pee first."

Billy looked away horrified. Oh god. He hated being Little sometimes. Having your boyfriend ask you if you need to go the bathroom, was so embarrassing. Not that Teddy was his boyfriend. Why would he want to be, when Billy was a Little. He hadn't hated being Little much before he started dating Teddy. Now, he constantly wished he was just a normal teenager. Like a Neutral, or anything else really. Being a Sub wouldn't hurt. Teddy was a Dom, so he'd probably like him more if he were a Sub.

Teddy grimaced at the shame Billy was exhibiting. Okay, so he probably wasn't Little, if he was reacting like that. Now, Teddy just felt bad for asking.

"Sorry, Billy. I just- I'm not used to this. I was just concerned that-" Teddy stopped.

Telling Billy he thought he might wet himself, would not help.

"Shut up, Teddy." Billy groaned.

He stood up, tucking his potato chips into his backpack.

"Right." Teddy muttered.

The blond was blushing now. Billy couldn't help but smile at that. He was pretty cute when he blushed. 

"So, are you gonna show me how to skate, or not?"

Teddy glanced down at his board. He grabbed it and offered his other hand to Billy. Billy took it and let the older boy pull him to his feet. He stumbled, bumping into Teddy's chest. Teddy chuckled and kissed him, wrapping his arm around his waist. Billy blushed hard, but was grinning too. Teddy smirked down at him and pulled him over to a flat part of the park.

He no intention of letting the boy go on any ramps. That was definitely too dangerous for his Little. Not that Billy was his Little. Teddy knew, logically that his fear was irrational. Billy was just as capable of skating, when he was Big, as anyone else. He still couldn't help the fear that gripped him, at the thought of Billy getting hurt.

Teddy set his board down and Billy glanced nervously at it. He found himself pressing closer to Teddy. He didn't really want to get on it. It was on wheels, and he sure that it would just roll right out from under him. Really it seemed hazardous. He wasn't sure why it scared him so much. He ice skates with no problem. Then again, ice skates don't have wheels. They do have skinny blades that you balance on. It was probably, because he learned to skate on the ice early on. Whereas, Tommy didn't try to teach him to skateboard, until they were in middle school. It was a little late, in his opinion.

Teddy rubbed his hand up and down Billy's side and kissed his head. Teddy needed to put on a show of confidence. It was important that Billy felt like he could do anything he wanted to do. Even if, Tommy would rather keep him safe inside of a bubble.

"Alright, Billy. Why don't you get on?"

"Both feet?" Billy squeaked.

"Well, you're going to need one foot to push, but you can start with both feet, just to get comfortable on the board. Once you're moving, you can have both feet on the board."

Billy seemed reluctant to pull away from him. Teddy stepped away, and encouraged him to step on the board. Billy stepped up to the board and put a foot on. He looked back at Teddy, who nodded encouragly.

"You've got it."

Teddy had to fight the urge to hover behind him. As Billy pressed his foot down, the board rolled a little. He shrieked and jumped back. Teddy chuckled. He shouldn't think that was so cute, but he did. Billy was adorable. Especially, when the boy immediately returned to Teddy and latched onto him. Teddy had caught on quickly, that whether Big or Little, Billy liked being held and cuddled.

It wasn't shocking, since he did have a twin. They spent a lot of their time curled up together. Teddy wasn't complaining about it. He didn't mind having Billy latch onto him. Teddy was pretty sure that it was just as comforting for him, as it was for the boy.

"Hey, it's okay. You did good. Try again."

Billy shook his head.

"Don't wanna." He mumbled into Teddy's shirt.

Teddy stroked his hair and wrapped him up in a hug.

"Would it help if I held your hand?"

Billy grumbled, but pulled away and stepped towards the board. He glanced back at Teddy, expectantly. The older boy stepped forward, smirking. He grabbed Billy's hand. Billy stepped back on. This time when the board moved, Billy reached out for Teddy. Teddy wrapped his arm around his waist, and Billy leaned back into him. Teddy chuckled and nuzzled against his neck. Billy sighed and melted into him. He was confident that Teddy would hold him up.

Teddy was happy to hold him close, but he also recognized that this wasn't really beneficial. Billy wouldn't ever learn how to skate, if he was leaning on him. In fact, it would probably do more harm than good. Billy needed to learn to balance on the board, not lean his weight backwards. Teddy squeezed him, then removed his arm.

"Alright. You gotta stand now."

Billy pouted, but listened.

"I'm gonna let go now, okay?"

Billy shook his head.

"No, don't let go."

Billy clutched Teddy's hand. He didn't want him to let go. He was perfectly content to just let Teddy hold onto him. He didn't really care about skating anyways.

"You're not gonna learn, if I hold onto you."

Teddy huffed, but let go of Teddy's hand. He stood on the board, but he didn't seem eager to try to move. Teddy took a step back and encouraged him to go for it. When Tommy came over, Billy had it down. He wasn't doing any tricks, but he could push with is foot and stay on the board. It was anything really impressive, but Teddy cheered for him and Tommy joined in.

Billy was grinning and all smiles, until he fell.

Then, he was crying and Teddy was freaking out. Tommy wasn't helping. He was telling Teddy to call an ambulance, and Teddy was worried he broke something. Their panic only made Billy cry harder. Teddy was starting to think that this had been a horrible idea. What was he thinking letting Billy get on a skateboard? It had wheels. It was dangerous. This was really bad.

Except, it wasn't. 

Another skater came over and stepped in, thankfully. 

"Geez, get a grip you two. I've seen a lot of bad falls here, and that was not one if them. He was barely even moving." She said.

"He's crying." Tommy fretted.

"Yeah, and? I think he's scared. Honestly, I'd be scared if people freaked out, the way you two are. Chill."

Teddy was holding Billy in his arms at this point and Tommy was hovering. The girl shooed them both away, despite their reluctancy to leave his side.

"Hey, I'm Kate. Their both idiots. Don't worry about them. Can I see your arm?"

She examined his arm, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You're pretty tough kid. I bet you could take a fall much worse than this and be just fine, huh?"

It wasn't hard to tell that Billy was Little at this point, even for someone who didn't know his Classification. He was rubbing at his eyes with one hand. The other one was stuffed in his mouth. He nodded, cheeks wet and fingers slobbery.

"Here, I've got something that will help."

Kate pulled a package of band-aids out of her backpack. She stuck one to the kids elbow. He was barely even hurt. Scraped, but not even bleeding. So, he didn't really need a band-aid. Billy grinned at the girl though. She wiped the tears off of his face and ruffled his hair.

The band-aid was red, white, and blue, with a star in the center. Like the American flag. Billy liked his cartoon band-aids better, but he was still happy.

"Wow, that was amazing. You handled that so well." Teddy said, in awe.

"And you didn't handle it at all. If you're gonna look after a Little, you better learn to do better than that. Honestly, that was awful."

Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Can you teach me?" Teddy asked.

He was willing to do anything to help Billy. Kate scoffed.

"No. I'm not your tutor. Teach yourself."

With that the girl was off.

* * *

It all started with a simple ow and ended with Teddy rushing Billy to the nurse's office.

Everything was fine. Billy was sitting in class reading a comic book. The teacher was giving a lecture, but the boy was Little, so the teacher didn't bother telling him to pay attention. Tommy had homeroom with him. Afterwards, Tommy found Teddy, who has been with Billy since then. The boy was more than happy to lounge in Teddy's lap, and look at the pictures in his comics. Teddy thought that the superhero comics were a bit violent for a young kid like Billy to be reading, but he didn't dare take them away. He could only imagine the fit Billy would kick up, if he did.

That was not something he wanted to deal with at school. Plus, Billy was pretty cute, as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. Teddy found himself zoning out as the minutes ticked by. His head on Billy's shoulder, as he hunched over the boy, his arms wrapped around his waist. Teddy looked up and raised a brow in question, when one of Billy's classmates approached him. Teddy hadn't even realized the teacher had finished talking.

"Cool comic, kid. Who's your favorite?"

"Asgardian!" Billy chirped.

Teddy chuckled at the eager response.

"Ah, of course! With all the lightning, why wouldn't he be?"

"He can do a whole lot more than just lightning based magic."

Teddy didn't understand half of what the boy said, but his classmate seemed to follow him well enough. The two chatted for a bit about Billy's favorite character.

"Who do you like best?"

"Lieutenant America."

"That's Bucky's favorite too!"

"Bucky?"

"He's one of my friends little brothers."

"Gotcha."

It wasn't long after his classmate walked away that Teddy was rushing Billy to the nurses office. He had worked himself up into a panic, and as per usual, Billy was crying.

The nurse took one look at the two boys and gestured for Teddy to set Billy down.

"Tell me what happened?" She asked, calm and collected as she lifted up Billy's hand.

She swabbed at his bloody finger with a disinfectant wipe, and cleaned it off, as Teddy rambled on about the cause of the injury.

"He's Little and I was with him, 'cause he's Little, and I was supposed to be watching him, and I was, but he got hurt anyways. It's not the first time either. I starting to think I'm really bad at this."

"Was he reading?" 

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"He has a paper cut." The nurse told him as she put a hello kitty band-aid on his finger.

Teddy dropped down to a crouch and kissed Billy's finger, then scooped the boy up when he made grabby hands at him. Billy snuggled up to him, and Teddy kissed his nose.

"All better?"

"All better!" The boy agreed.

"Thanks, doc, your the best."

"Not a doctor, but I you're welcome. Now get back to class."

* * *

The next time they visited the nurses office, it was much like the first time. Teddy came rushing in carrying the Little, and Billy was in tears. The nurse looked up, and gestured to the bed again. Billy refused to let go of Teddy this time. So, Teddy sat down with him in his lap.

The nurse's gaze scanned the young boy, but she couldn't see any sign of an injury.

"What happened?" She inquired.

"I don't know. I don't know. I just went to the bathroom. I swear, I wasn't even gone five minutes. When I came back he was like this, and he won't talk to me. I tried to see if anyone else saw, but noone was being helpful. The stupid teacher didn't see anything. Billy won't talk to me. I don't know how to make it better."

The nurse put her hand up to stop him.

"Hi, Billy. I'm Claire. Can you tell what happened?"

Billy sobbed and hid his face in Teddy's neck. The older boy rubbed his back soothingly, and stared at the nurse with pleading eyes. Teddy was scared. He didn't know what happened. He didn't know how to fix it. Mostly, he was terribly concerned that he wasn't cut out to be a Caregiver. Well, he wasn't a Caregiver, but he really wanted to be one for Billy. He didn't want to be a Dom, because Billy didn't need that. He needed to be taken care of, and Teddy just wasn't sure he to do that. He was just a kid himself, afterall.

Claire turned around and pulled a lollipop out of the top drawer in her desk.

"Look, Billy. I have a special treat for you. It's blue raspberry."

That caught the boys attention.

"Bribery's not the best parenting tactic, but it's damn effective."

Teddy stared at her in awe, like the woman had superpowers. He didn't understand why he struggled so much with this, when other people seemed to be so calm about these kind of things. The man at the park, Wanda, Kate, now Nurse Claire. They all handled it so well, and all Teddy could do was panic.

"Are you new to this?" She asked.

"To what?"

"Taking care of him."

Teddy nodded, and helped the boy unwrap his lollipop. Billy stuffed the blue hard candy in his mouth.

"Yeah, we started dating the other week. We spend a lot of time together though. He's Little a lot, you see. When I'm not with him, I worry about him. I worry when I'm with him to, but at least I can see him and know he's alright. When he gets hurt. I just- I feel like I'm dying. He means everything to me. I don't know what I'd do without him." Teddy confessed.

Billy glanced up at him, twirling the lollipop in his mouth. Teddy smiled at him, and tickled his sides. The boy giggled and squirmed on his lap.

"I think you're doing great-" She paused.

"Teddy." He supplied.

"Well, Teddy. It's obvious that your Little really likes you. You just need to relax a little bit. He's not as delicate as you might think. You're a big boy, aren't you, Billy?"

The Little nodded.

"'Ig 'oy." He mumbled around his lollipop.

"That's right. You sure are!"

Teddy thanked the nurse on the way out and thought over what she'd said. It wasn't the first time he'd been told to calm down. They do say that the third times the charm though. Hopefully, he could be a little bit more relaxed. He had a feeling that he'd never be fully relaxed. He just cared too much. Maybe time would take the edge off though.

* * *

Billy looked up to the sounds of snickers drawing his attention away from his book. He was sitting under a tree during his free period. If he was Little, this would be his naptime, but he wasn't today.

"Look at the little baby. Where's your faggot boyfriend." John Kesler, a boy from his English class sneered. 

His friends laughed.

Billy's jaw clenched and he saw red.

The words his mother had once told him, rang in his ears alongside the blood rushing like the ocean waves. Washing away any sense of reasoning. Teddy had heard the comment and had every intention of beating the bully into the ground. Teddy didn't get the chance to. Billy beat him to John, and swung his fist at him. There was a sickening crack and John's nose started to gush blood. John took a swing at Billy too. He dodged it, his foot swiping out to knock John to the ground. Unfortunately, one of John's friends took a swing at the boy and hit him square in the jaw.

"Shit! Billy!"

His jaw throbbed and he spit out blood. He didn't think his teeth were broken, but there was a sharp pain in his mouth. He didn't have much time to try and pinpoint exactly where it hurt, before Teddy was by his side.

"Take me to the nurse." John was saying.

Teddy rounded on him.

"If you show up in the nurse's office, I will make you regret it. You better hope I don't see you again."

Teddy glared at him, before turning and scooping up Billy.

"Out of my way!" He yelled as he sprinted to the nurses office.

The nurse sighed, exasperated, when she saw them, yet again.

She jumped up when she took in the sight of Billy. His jaw was starting to swell up and there was blood gushing out of his mouth. It dripped off of his chin. Claire jumped into action. She grabbed an ice pack and wet cloth. Teddy was already sitting down, with Billy on his lap.

"Hold this on his jaw." She instructed. "Can you open your mouth, dear?"

Billy whimpered, as he did so. His jaw hurt and opening didn't help. Claire examined his mouth, and pressed the cloth against his tongue. Billy whined.

"Shh, I know. It hurts, huh?"

Billy just whined again. Tears ran down his face, mixing with blood running out of his mouth.

"Is he dying? Why's he bleeding so much? Did that asshole break his teeth? I'll kill him! Is he gonna be okay?" Teddy rushed out.

Claire placed a hand on his shoulder, to calm the distraught boy.

"It's not great, but it's not fatal. It looks like he bit through his tongue. Head injuries bleed a lot, but it's not horrible. It'll be sore for a few days, but within a week or two, it'll be like it never happened. He should keep his jaw iced, until the swelling is gone."

Claire pushed away the ice pack for a moment, prodding at Billy's jaw. He hissed and flinched away from her touch. She pulled away and let Teddy ice it again.

"It's not broken, so that's good. The bruise will probably look pretty nasty, but it'll be gone within a few weeks too."

Teddy nodded. He held Billy close to him. The boy curled up on his lap. Claire called Wanda and had her come pick them up. Teddy wasn't about to leave his side. He couldn't believe he was right there and Billy still got hurt.

* * *

"What happened, baby?" Wanda asked, when she came in.

Her eyes were round and worried.

"I got in a fight."

"You what? William! What were you thinking?" Wanda was scanning the boy, her hands on his face.

"He has a swollen jaw, and he bit through his lip, but it should heal within a few weeks, Mrs. Maximoff. I suggest he drink smoothies and other soft foods, out of straws for a bit. We don't want any chunks getting inside his wound. He should also ice his jaw, until the swelling goes down completely."

Wanda nodded.

"My poor baby! Look at you. My baby boy. Let's get you home."

They stopped by Tommy's class to grab him on their way out.

"Who did this to you?" Tommy demanded.

"Who do you think? That damn bully, Kesler." Teddy told him.

Tommy gritted his teeth. He looked just about as ready to kill him as Teddy did.

"You think I look bad, Tommy, you should see Kesler. I broke his nose!" Billy bragged.

"William! That's not something to be proud of." Wanda said, but she had to fight back a smile as she did.

She was proud of her son for finally standing up for himself. She wasn't glad that it was done through violence, especially since he got hurt in the process. She was proud, nonetheless.

"Damn, Billy!" Tommy said, sounding impressed. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Billy grinned, but grimaced when it hurt to do so. His face definitely hurt, but it wasn't so bad. He'd stood up to the boy who'd bullied him for quite some time, and he got to spend the rest of the day cuddled between his twin and Teddy. Even Big, Billy loved cuddling, so he wasn't complaining. He was on ibuprofen around the clock, so turned the sharp stabbing pain in his tongue to a dull throb and helped reduce the swelling in his jaw. The ice numbed his jaw. He got to drink a milkshake too.

Overall, it wasn't half bad.


End file.
